About this opening
Caro-Kann Defense: Classical Variation, Spassky Variation is an opening in the Encyclopedia of Chess Openings,
classified under code B19. ECO group B (B00–B99)
covers semi-open games (1.e4 with Black playing anything other than 1…e5), with the Sicilian, French, Caro-Kann and Pirc/Modern at its heart. This particular variation is reached
after 15 half-moves from the
starting position, with the move sequence 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Nf3 Nd7 8. h5.
It belongs to the Caro-Kann Defense family.
Within that family this is a level-2 branch (the Classical Variation → Spassky Variation line). The immediate parent line is Caro-Kann Defense: Classical Variation, transitioned via 8.h5.
The opening sequence in prose form: 1.e4 c6, 2.d4 d5, 3.Nd2 dxe4, 4.Nxe4 Bf5, 5.Ng3 Bg6, 6.h4 h6. From this position the encyclopaedia records no further canonical continuations — practical play branches into unnamed transpositions or returns to the parent line for alternative ideas.
Use the interactive board above to walk through the moves position-by-position. Click any move in the navigation to step backwards, or use the keyboard arrow keys. For statistical data — how often master-level players have reached this position, White's win-rate, draw frequency, Black's score — see the panel in the right column.
Caissly's coverage of B19 extends through every named sub-variation in this line and across all four locales (English, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian). Where editorial commentary exists for a specific variation it appears as the page body; otherwise the page presents the structural data, board, and statistics as shown here.